1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention is in the field of data processing systems and more particularly the field of data processing system power restoration following a power transition.
2. History of Related Art
In the field of data processing systems and networks, many applications such as Internet data centers are implemented with a set of densely packed servers interconnected using one or more switching modules. In this type of environment, it is highly desirable if the servers, switch modules, and other components of the network are hot-swappable so that maintenance can be performed without sacrificing the network's availability. In addition, it is desirable if the network is capable of implementing various interconnection protocols or fabrics using switching modules of different types. While these characteristics are desirable in a multi-server network configuration, the ability to hot-swap various components, some of which have different protocol characteristics than others, can result in compatibility problems. Specifically, as operators, technicians, and maintenance personnel attempt to address network problems by swapping various cards or modules, some of which may have different communication protocol characteristics than others, in and out of a densely packed server configuration, it is difficult to maintain complete compatibility among all of the modules in the network. Incompatibilities between various communication protocols, for example, can damage system components. It would be desirable, therefore, to implement a system and method for managing power in a multi-server data processing network. It would be further desirable if the implemented network and method were highly automated to prevent powering on incompatible modules within the network. It would be still further desirable if the implemented network and method automatically restored power to the various network modules following a power reset such that the power state after a power transition mirrored the power state before the transition.